The present invention relates to a silver halide color reversal lightsensitive material. More particularly, the present invention is to provide a silver halide color reversal lightsensitive material having a push-processability favorable to users and relates to a silver halide color reversal lightsensitive material which is improved in sensitivity at high speed development, gradation, gradation balance and color balance.
In the color reversal image formation, a sensitivity regulation by prolonging the black and white development time during color reversal process is conducted in order to compensate for any under-exposure of a color photographic lightsensitive material. This sensitivity regulation is generally called "push-processing".
Various trials for enhancing the push-processability have been made. For example, the method of enhancing the push-processability with the use of a color reversal lightsensitive material in which a silver halide emulsion having fog nuclei inside silver halide grains is employed, is disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. (hereinafter referred to as JP-A-) 59-214852, JP-A's-60-170849, 60-170850, 60-170851, 60-170852, 60-170853, 63-193147 and 9-218485. Further, the method of enhancing the push-processability with the use of a color reversal lightsensitive material having colloidal silver contained in an interlayer combined with a silver halide emulsion layer, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,298,369 (JP-A-5-257243).
However, although the method of improving, for example, the sensitivity, highest density and color balance in the push-processing of a color reversal lightsensitive material is disclosed in the above literature, these techniques cannot be stated as being satisfactory with respect to the improvement of gradation and gradation balance when push-processing is performed.
Moreover, JP-A-7-225459 discloses the technique of improving the gradation balance and gradation change at push-processing by the use of a DIR compound, colloidal silver and an emulsion of internal latent image type. This push-processing is intended to attain a speed increase to about twofold, or pays attention to the gradation, color balance and gradation balance at a push-processing for attaining a speed increase to fourfold or more, or is intended to effect a sensitization with a speed of twofold (0.3 log E or less). However, the push-processing practically employed by most users ranges from 1.4-fold to less than fourfold in speed, and it has not yet been elucidated what kind of characteristic values must be possessed by a color reversal film capable of producing like images irrespective of any speed set within this range in the use thereof or how these can be attained.